Ben Franklin once said a penny saved is a penny earned.

For thousands of Giant Eagle customers on Saturday, a penny saved amounted to two pennies earned.

The grocery chain announced Wednesday that because of a penny shortage at its 200 Giant Eagle and Market District supermarkets, it would offer customers a chance to convert spare pennies into Giant Eagle gift cards equal to twice the value of the cents exchanged.

The response was “nothing short of amazing, Giant Eagle President and CEO Bill Artman said after the promotion ended Saturday afternoon.

The chain said it received more than 100 million pennies across its supermarket locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the promotion ended.

Customers were allowed to exchange a

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